FREEDOM TO VENT, VOTE

THE HARTFORD COURANT

Democracy is goin' downhill. You can see it in everything. A man can't call his soul his own. Taxes on this house used to be $19 once -- now they're $113. A man in business, he's got to give an account of every move he makes, got to do like somebody else tells him -- they're taking away the freedom -- and maybe it's a good thing and maybe it ain't. To my thinkin' it ain't. You got to pay an income tax on a thousand dollars, and if you got money in the bank, they want to know just how much, and interest is comin' on it, and everything else. It may be only two dollars a year, but you got to declare it. Call that freedom?

I hate to see too much of that sort of thing, and I hate to see persecution. A man's religion or his politics is his own goddam business, and surely it's little enough to allow people. When they begin takin' that away from us -- when a man can't vote or worship as he pleases -- you might as well be dead. Because you won't be a free man any more -- you'll be a slave.

These are the thoughts of a Connecticut resident, Arthur Bosford, expressed in 1938 to an interviewer as part of the Federal Writers' Project chronicling life in America. His sentiments are worth resurrecting from the archives of the Library of Congress on this occasion, the 231st anniversary of the nation's independence, because they represent a cornerstone of democracy that we often take for granted -- the freedom to gripe.

The ability to criticize government and to rail against injustice -- both perceived and real -- without fear of reprisal is what sets this nation apart. It is an impulse that has never been healthier or more important. In the Internet age, anyone with a beef can vent online. The marketplace of ideas, facilitated by technology, is bustling more than at any time in history.

But talk is not enough. The key to preserving freedom is to be more than a curmudgeon. The beauty of living in America is that naysayers are not powerless. They have the opportunity -- and the responsibility -- to transform hot air into constructive change with the most effective tool we have -- voting.

So it is heartening to note the results of a recent poll of young adults, conducted by the New York Times, MTV and CBS News. It shows that youths 17 to 29 are paying more attention to their role in the democratic process. More are planning to vote in the 2008 national election than did in 2004. They are more open to change, such as having a woman or a black man for president, allowing same-sex couples to marry and being more welcoming to immigrants. The majority want better health care and believe global warming is a serious problem that deserves high priority.

They are as worried as the general population about the outlook for the nation, and they think their generation is likely to be worse off than their parents'. But they believe that their votes can make a difference.

Their idealism is the fuel that will get things done.

There will always be plenty to complain about. But today, let's celebrate the freedom to speak out and the responsibility to address our gripes by voting. Both are essential if we are to safeguard the principles on which this nation was founded. Diligent citizenship is the only way to keep democracy, as Mr. Bosford so colorfully put it 69 years ago, from goin' downhill.